Field leaching of pesticides at five test sites in Hawaii: study description and results

Following the discovery of pesticides in wells, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) supported research to evaluate the likelihood of pesticide leaching to the groundwater in Hawaii. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative leaching pattern of five pesticides at five different sites on three islands and to compare their leaching behavior with bromide and a reference chemical (atrazine) that is known to leach in Hawaiian conditions. Laboratory measurements of sorption and degradation of the pesticides were made.

Most of the applied mass of pesticides was still present in the top 80 cm after the 16 week study period. The aggregated oxisol at Kunia showed the most intensive leaching among the five sites. The revised attenuation factor screening approach used by the HDOA indicated that all chemicals, with the exception of trifloxystrobin, had the potential to leach. Similarly, the groundwater ubiquity score ranked trifloxystrobin as a non-leacher. The field leaching data, however, suggested that trifloxystrobin was the most mobile compound among the pesticides tested.

Although the results were variable among the sites, the field and laboratory experiments provided useful information for regulating use of these pesticides in Hawaii.